Village Shepherd

There was a story in our local paper recently about a local television newsreader who had visited a chiropractor. The chiropractor went off to America to learn some new techniques and on his return rang the newsreader to ask whether she would like to try out his new equipment.

She was wired up to a machine which ran a computer software programme which analysed aspects of the body's systems and determined imbalances in the physical, emotional and chemical reactions of the body. As a result of the computer analysis, the chiropractor was able to offer a range of different therapies to suit each problem.

The newsreader admitted that her job dealing with sometimes terrible news on a daily basis, had made her into a very sceptical person, so she was not unduly impressed by the machine or even its results. But after treatment, she felt so much better that she described herself as now open-minded about the venture. Had she become so hardened and embittered or had her mind been so closed that she hadn't bothered to accept the invitation and go along to find out what it was all about, she would never have felt any improvement.

Open minds are important in all areas of life. For instance, change is quite an unsettling prospect for most people and many of us close our minds and resist change whenever we can, because change is so threatening. At work, where we have to do whatever the job entails because we're paid to do that job, most of us accept change, albeit with a few grumbles. But in church, when we're not paid and needn't attend at all if we don't wish to do so, it's much more difficult to accept change. The church is a place of security and for many people, its unchanging nature is a large part of its attraction. Church is the one thing that stays the same in a rapidly changing world and people value that unchanging attribute.

But the unchanging nature of the Church can also be its death knell, for anything which refuses to change soon becomes set in stone and then becomes simply a museum piece instead of a living and breathing organism. Change is easier to accept if it's viewed with an open mind and the potential pros and cons are weighed up objectively.

An open mind may not be considered as one of the great virtues, but perhaps it should be. Those who are open-minded are prepared to take risks, to try something out and face the risk that it might fail. Those who are open-minded are also much less likely to be judgmental in their dealings with others. They may not like what they hear and see, but they are prepared to put up with it and to suspend any judgment on it until they have decided for themselves whether it's right or wrong.

One of the biggest problems with fanaticism in religion is that those who are fanatics tend to have closed minds. They're so certain that they're right and that their way is the only way, that they judge other people who are not of the same mind and they find those other people wanting. This causes all sorts of hurts and pain, and worse, can cause rifts in the Christian community. When fundamentalists in any religion grow strong, the whole world faces division and conflict. Thus Jewish and Muslim fundamentalists have caused terrible violence in the Holy Land, just as Catholic and Protestant fundamentalists have caused terrible violence in Northern Ireland. And with the growth of Muslim fundamentalists across the world urging their young to become suicide bombers and terrorists, the world begins to feel like quite a dangerous place.

Of course, people become terrorists for a reason and the world should be open-minded enough to heed the cries and the demands of terrorists, for their acts are usually a response to perceived injustice. But how much better it would be if injustices were spotted and dealt with before people had to become terrorists in order make changes to the social order.

St Paul wasn't beset by terrorists, but he was judged and found wanting by some of those within the Corinthian church. He replied to criticism by saying, "We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way." And then he went on to detail the very tough life he had endured for the sake of the gospel, pointing out that despite all the privations and hardships he and his team had endured, they had all remained true to the gospel.

Paul tells the Corinthians that he has done them the honour of being honest with them, and tells them why he has dared to speak the truth. It's because "our heart is wide open to you." We only dare to be truly honest with those we love, for real honesty such as Paul delivers in his letters and Jesus delivered in his words, can be painful to hear and is therefore risky to deliver. And Paul requests the same open-hearted generosity of spirit from the Corinthians. He says, "There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. In return--I speak as to children--open wide your hearts also."

That's very good Christian advice. Open wide your hearts, for God can touch those with wide open hearts. Hearts that are closed keep God out as well as other people and new ideas, but hearts that are wide open become big enough encompass all sorts of needs and causes and people, and allow God to penetrate and change our inner being. And nothing is more important than that.